peace gets personal

About

As a peacebuilder who’s moved around the world and back, I blog to make sense of my relationship with a strange place called ‘home.’ I am what cross-cultural theorists call a ‘global nomad’ – a person who has lived in so many places that their identity becomes internationalized. We global nomads can adapt easily to almost any culture – yet we don’t belong fully to any of them. When we re-enter our home culture, we experience it as an outsider looking in. I returned to Seattle, USA, more than five years ago, and I still feel out of place.

At ‘home’ with my husband Brent

Nobody would have seen this coming. I grew in a mostly mono-cultural small town an hour’s drive from Seattle. I was blessed with a few Vietnamese friends, and that was the extent of my cross-cultural exposure. All of that began to change when I visited México at age 17. A glimpse of the world through different eyes, combined with a growing awareness of the God who created us all, kick-started a transformation that is still unfolding today. My other homes have been México, Kosovo, the Philippines and Singapore. My peacebuilding experience has deep roots in Asia, but the second language of my heart is español.

My passion is for healthy relationships between people groups – especially ethnic, religious and cultural groups – so I pay attention to those relationships everywhere I go. When I returned to Seattle, I was eager to re-engage all aspects of American diversity, as well as the international effects of US foreign policy. Within a few months I found myself particularly compelled to face up to the epic wrongs done to our continent’s First Nations, the American Indians, because I was shocked by how routinely this injustice is ignored in mainstream American culture.

Context Analysis in Sri Lanka

During that time, my blog became a way to reflect on American society and my own role within in. As a strong introvert, blogging is also a good way to let people know what’s going on inside my head. I blog slowly, but it helps me stay grounded. Other things that keep me sane while living in Seattle include hanging around with my amazing husband Brent, developing multi-cultural Christian community through Quest Church and inter-faith community with migrant neighbors, open water swimming in the cold waters of the Puget Sound, and lots of international travel.

So, while the blog is highly personal, there are plenty of professional resources available, too, starting with the new book and publications on this website. My bio and CV are available upon request. Feel free to contact me for info or conversation. Thanks for reading!